Matting of various materials and combinations of materials is well known. Mats combining rubber portions and carpeted portions are well known. Such prior art mats are either produced by gluing a carpet blank to a rubber base, or by molding a rubber frame to a carpet blank where the carpet blank has a plasticized underside to bond to the rubber.
A disadvantage common to such prior art mats is an inability to reliably bond the carpet to the rubber. Such prior art mats are prone to delamination.
Another disadvantage common to such prior art mats is that the carpeted portions and rubber portions are distinct and have differing degrees of flexibility, which often results in stress failures at the boundary lines there-between. A continuous flexibility across the mat was heretofore impossible.
Another disadvantage common to such prior art mats lies in their inability to fully integrate the rubber and the carpet for both aesthetic and functional improvement. Such prior art mats have carpeted “islands” surrounded by rubber perimeters, but rubber ribs or such could not be positioned across or within the carpeted area for such useful purposes as comfort, support, or show-scraping, or for aesthetic advantages such as rubber logos or rubber patterns within the carpeted areas.
Another disadvantage common to such prior art mats lies in the odor, off-gassing, and flammability of the glues and bonding chemicals used.
There exists a need for improvement in mats to more reliably bond the carpet to the rubber, and such is an object of the present invention. There exists a need for improvement in mats to provide continuous flexibility across the mat, and such is an object of the present invention. There exists a need for improvement in mats to integrate the rubber and the carpet for both aesthetic and functional improvement, and such is an object of the present invention. There exists a need for odor reduction, off-gassing reduction, and flammability reduction in mats and such is an object of the present invention.
Further needs and objects exist which are addressed by the present invention, as may become apparent by the included disclosure of an exemplary embodiment thereof.